I did know about this one but i think a reminder is in order.
The plastic driving licence card will expire before the actual paper copy. Just spoken to a real live officer of the law and he confirmed;
The B******* at DVLA very kindy inform the police of any plastic card which expire allthough in theory you are still licenced.
It is done on the premis that your details including the address should be updated, unofficially the police also see it as yet onother rip off for the motorist and i can imagine what a time consuming exercise it must be.
So guys, check your plastic card expirey date TODAY!
All UK photocard driving licences need to be updated every 10 years.
The photograph on the licence is only valid for 10 years, therefore the driving licence and photo needs to be updated accordingly. Drivers will not need to retake a driving test but will of course need to submit a new photo of how they currently look.
This started to happen in July 2008, with the DVLA starting to issue reminders in May 2008. The holder must renew their licence before their current photo expires. Renewal is necessary to avoid a £1000 fine. The licence expiry date can be found in the section marked 4b on the front of the photocard.
The paper part of the licence however does not contain an expiry until the holders 70th Birthday.
Businesses will need to review licence holders who drive for work as employees with an out of date licence could affect vehicle insurance and therefore the entitlement to drive legally. All businesses that have employees driving for work should have a record of all drivers licences and expiry dates, which should be updated at least annually, or every six months for any driver that is getting near the limit for a ban.
It now appears that there will be a charge of £17.50 for the update, this will affect some 300,000 motorists between July 2008 and April 2009. Photocard licences replaced the traditional paper licences, which do not have to be renewed until the holders 70th birthday.
However a DVLA spokesperson has said that a motorist's entitlement to drive will not be affected by failure to update the photo on the licence but it will invalidate their insurance. This is because with an out of date licence their entitlement to drive legally has ended, invalidating their car insurance, beware!!
Firstly the B*** at DVLA are not B***** they are Gov employees doing what the MPs in Parliament (apparently we elect them?!) have told them to!!!!!
Secondly why cant we take some responsibility for ourselves for a change? You dont get a reminder when your Passport runs out and we manage ok. DVLA sent out car tax renewal reminders but there is no legal requirement to. They also know whose tax has expired in the same way that the TV licencing authorities do. So nothing new there. You can also be fined for not displaying a tax disc even if you are taxed.
Invalidating your insurance is never a good idea - but driving without tax or mot can do just that too.
Brian's reminder is a good one, and one I had forgotten about but the policeman's comment are out of order in my book.
So the best thing is just to make sure that everything is legal - is it that hard?! If you think it is then take it out on the politicians and lobby them for a change and the cost is another issue but I cant imagine that anything will be getting better at the end of this week.
Firstly ... the Police are not experts in Law... they just blindly administer it. Thankfully in this FREE? country of ours Judges are the ones who have been enlisted to decide and interpret the law, and from my own experiences get verry verry tetchy with anyone who tries to do their job for them!!!!
Secondly... my insurance docs. says it is not valid insuranceif insured vehicle does not have a current MOT
AND THIRDLY.................... the bit of paper you get, called by some an MOT certificate, is merely a receipt........................... the DVLA keep the dates of MOTs on file electronically
Additional advice is NOT to send off your old originals with the application - just say they are lost.
It has been known for Categories to be left off and if you send the originals you have lost your proof
I've also known this, aswell as categories being ADDED without being eligible! Good ol' DVLA! Another bit of advise is to take a couple of photocopies of licence and that way you can check/prove entitlements.
If only I had listened to TTR, I would still have my group H instead of the provisional for tracklaying vehicles steered by their tracks!! Passed my group H on one of these, except mine was orange!!!
I'm just far too chilled to ever rant !!
-- Edited by Torr on Sunday 17th of October 2010 06:05:12 PM
-- Edited by Torr on Sunday 17th of October 2010 06:08:01 PM
Firstly the B*** at DVLA are not B***** they are Gov employees doing what the MPs in Parliament (apparently we elect them?!) have told them to!!!!!
Secondly why cant we take some responsibility for ourselves for a change? You dont get a reminder when your Passport runs out and we manage ok. DVLA sent out car tax renewal reminders but there is no legal requirement to. They also know whose tax has expired in the same way that the TV licencing authorities do. So nothing new there. You can also be fined for not displaying a tax disc even if you are taxed.
Invalidating your insurance is never a good idea - but driving without tax or mot can do just that too.
Brian's reminder is a good one, and one I had forgotten about but the policeman's comment are out of order in my book.
So the best thing is just to make sure that everything is legal - is it that hard?! If you think it is then take it out on the politicians and lobby them for a change and the cost is another issue but I cant imagine that anything will be getting better at the end of this week.
Dan
Well said Dan. I have to renew mine every four years, it is not difficult. I get sent reminders though.
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Avoiding risk avoids excitement, even Snow White turned away Elf and Safety...
When you send your licence off put a note in asking them to return the old ones. They will send your old photocard back with holes stamped in it and your paper counterpart with CANCELLED stamped on it. A few days later you will receive your new licences.
I did include a SAE for them to send the old ones back in but they just sent it back unused. As Brian said, take photcopies of the old ones before you send them away just in case something goes wrong. I haven't lost or gained any entitlements and they have even given me 10 years until the next one, instead of my usual 4.
So, not a rip off, just a system maintained by human beings, like us.
PS Photos now printed in B&W, not colour, shame really because mine now looks like an overexposed Alcatraz membership card!
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Avoiding risk avoids excitement, even Snow White turned away Elf and Safety...
walk into the booth the lovely assistant the other side of the screen works the computer and a machine takes your picture along with signing your sig electronically
and hey presto pay your dosh and me license is back less than one week later